A lot of cases have occurred time without number that I choose to ask myself why low blood pressure kills more or less like high blood pressure.
Recently was a case of one woman who happens to live close to the hospital where I work. Earlier last week this woman came to the hospital with a symptoms that she feels very weak and she can't afford to carry herself due to the fatigue she is having at the moment.
Though this woman came with her son who assisted her to the hospital as she is not feeling very okay.
After some laboratory test and a little vital signs done on her, we were able to find out that this woman is having low blood pressure (hypotension).
Well, after that she was admitted and was given bed to lay on. After like 30 minutes she was admitted the woman just died.
I wouldn't have believed this if not that I witnessed it myself on that particular day.
Well, today I decided to give a full details on what low blood pressure is and why it can be dangerous.
Hypotension
Hypotension is the opposite of hypertension like we all know. Hypertension simply means the blood passing through the vein or artery is higher than it should be and deserve to be monitored.
The same thing goes to hypotension. It simply means little or lower amount of blood passing through the blood vessels.
Any of this could pose a serious complication if not being monitored and can actually lead to sudden death.
Someone is termed to be hypotensive if he or she has
A systolic blood pressure of less than 90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or diastolic of less than 60 mmHg
Hypotension can actually be caused by a lot of factors which includes strenuous exercise, excessive heat, hormonal changes, low blood volume, widening of blood vessels, anemia, vitamin b deficiency and a lot of them.
Low blood pressure can actually occur when someone is having an underlying ailment which could be the reason why he or she is having low pressure of blood.
For some individuals, low blood pressure actually goes unnoticed. But in an older adults it comes along with dizziness when standing or after feeding, fainting, shortness of breath, fainting and chest pain.
Types of hypotension
Orthostatic hypotension (postural hypotension).
This type of hypotension occurs as a result of sudden standing from a sitting or lying position after a long period of time.
Causes includes, dehydration, pregnancy and long term bed rest.
Postprandial hypotension
This is a drop in pressure that happens one to two hours after eating. This actually occurs most often in an older person with a disease condition like Parkinson.
Taking food that contains less of carbohydrates and adequate water consumption will help reduce them.
Neurally mediated hypotension
This is a hypotension that occurs when someone must have stood for a long period of time. This is mostly found both in adults and children.
Treatment
Treatment of low blood pressure is actually dependent on the cause of it. Some hypotension which is caused as a result of anemia demands that the person should be transfused or take blood giving medication.
For hypotension due to dehydration, the person is meant to start taking water regularly in other to prevent this condition.
The same thing goes to other conditions that triggers this issue.
Conclusion
Hypertension is a very bad condition that demands an adequate attention. Some persons takes it for granted until it turns out to be detrimental.
The moment we start checking our blood pressure is the day we start knowing how to tackle it whenever it comes.